OPRA: police officer-involved lawsuits 2012-2019
Dear Hanover Township,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
1. A list of all lawsuits and cases in which any officer of the police department was involved between 2012 and 2019. For each lawsuit/case, please provide the date (month and year) of the alleged incident at issue, whether the alleged incident was excessive force, settlement amount (if any), and final compensation amount ruled (if any).
2. Please provide copies of the complaint in any lawsuits and cases described above.
Yours faithfully,
UC Research
The Township of Hanover received your request for Police Department
litigation records on May 27, 2020 pursuant to the Open Public Records Act
(“OPRA”) and common law right of access. The ongoing State of Emergency
and Public Health Emergency related to COVID-19 has resulted in
significantly modified/reduced staffing throughout the State. Accordingly,
on March 21, 2020 the Legislature amended OPRA to provide additional time
to respond to government record requests during such period. Due to the
expansiveness of your request, the Township’s modified staffing levels,
and the need to locate records outside of the municipal building, we will
require additional time to complete your request. We anticipate that
records readily identified as responsive to your request will be available
to you by the close of business on June 30, 2020. If the records are
available earlier, we will forward them to you as soon as your request is
complete.
In accordance with your May 27, 2020 OPRA concerning police officer
related lawsuits from 2012 to 2019, please find attached records
responsive to your request for government records pursuant to OPRA and the
common law right of access. A list of all the lawsuits for the period set
forth above may be found in the last attachment. The Township advised you
by e-mail dated June 2, 2020 that the records you requested would be made
available to you by the close of business on June 30, 2020 or earlier.
Therefore, in keeping with that notification, I am submitting the records
readily identified as responsive to your request. Your OPRA request is now
deemed answered and closed. Joseph A. Giorgio, Business
Administrator/Township Clerk, Hanover Township.